State law enforcement agencies to review use of force, duty to intervene policies
Secretary of Public Safety Erik Hooks tells State Highway Patrol, other state government law enforcement, to report back to him by June 30.
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It also was copied to leaders of the State Bureau of Investigation and the adult and juvenile correctional systems.
The memo is not an edict for local police departments or county sheriffs.
In the letter, Hooks tells state officials to "conduct a thorough review of your existing policies on use of force and de-escalation techniques, arrest procedures, treatment of persons in custody, cultural sensitivity training, crisis intervention and your internal investigation process."
They must also make sure their agency "has a clear policy articulating a duty to intervene and report in any case where an officer may be a witness to what they know to be an excessive use of force or other abuse of a suspect or arrestee."
The order follows the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who died after a police officer there pinned for nearly nine minutes with a knee to the back of his neck. The fact that other officers watched as Floyd died "is beyond comprehension," Hooks said in his memo.
"We can learn from this incident and implement positive, meaningful processes and policies," he wrote.
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